Ceylon Oxygen to invest LKR 1.3 bn in new merchant ASU

Trade News

Colombo, Sri Lanka, 13 Feb 2011: Ceylon Oxygen Limited, a member of The Linde Group, announced it will invest LKR 1.3 billion (EUR 9.3 million) for the installation of a new 65 tons per day (tpd) merchant air separation unit (ASU) in Sapugaskanda.

Scheduled to come on stream in September 2012, the new ASU will be built adjacent to the company’s existing ASU. The existing ASU will be maintained to ensure reliability of supply.

Ceylon Oxygen’s Chief Executive Mr Niran Pieris said, “As the market leader in Sri Lanka, Ceylon Oxygen is the sole supplier of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen. This new plant will be a milestone as it will produce argon and indeed it will make Sri Lanka fully self-sufficient in argon. We are delighted that we will soon be able to offer argon to the local market and potentially for export.”

Mr Pieris added, “Ceylon Oxygen celebrates its 75th year in Sri Lanka this year, and we feel very privileged to participate in and contribute towards the country’s industrial and economic development. While our existing 24 tpd ASU is capable of meeting the country’s total oxygen requirements at present, we anticipate an expansion in demand in line with continued economic growth. Our new ASU will enable us to significantly increase our production capacity and enhance our product and service offerings to our existing and potential new customers in the hospital, ship-building and ship-repair, steel, glass, food and chemicals sectors.”

Mr Sanjiv Lamba, Regional Business Unit Head for Linde’s gases business in South & East Asia said, “The Linde Group acquired Ceylon Oxygen last October with the intent of participating in the rapidly growing Sri Lankan economy. This decision to invest in a new ASU demonstrates our continued commitment to serving our customers and meeting future demand and market opportunities in Sri Lanka,” he concluded.

About Ceylon Oxygen Limited

Ceylon Oxygen Limited (COL), a member of The Linde Group, is the leading industrial gas supplier in Sri Lanka since 1936. COL manufactures and distributes industrial, specialty and medical gases, welding products, and provides a range of related services including the installation of gas equipment, pipelines and associated engineering services. COL is present in all the major industrial areas across the country and is committed to delivering quality and reliable services and solutions that create value for its customers.

The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with almost 48,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2009 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 11.2 billion. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.

Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.